For the Pistons, it never was about this season, but the future ahead.

As Lawrence Frank himself noted in his final days on the job, the fiscal flexibility originally designed for roster overhaul in 2014 has arrived one year early.

So the did the decision on whether the Pistons wanted to move forward with Frank as head coach after that roster reconstruction occurs.

The summer of promise is almost here, with the Pistons one of a dozen-or-so buyers in trades and free agency, and several sellers plotting ways to avoid harsh luxury taxes for repeat salary-cap offenders.

Frank, late this season, was deemed to be keeping the chair warm. His contract was timed that way from the start, three guaranteed years with a team option for a fourth. The Ben Gordon and Tayshaun Prince trades created cap space that wasn't expected until next year, when the Gordon, Rodney Stuckey and Charlie Villanueva contracts expire, and Frank could be released without penalty.

The official answer came in a three-paragraph press release Thursday, about 17 hours after a 29-53 season ended.

The Pistons' youth and promise should draw coaching candidates. Even with the Pistons forced by schedule to move with some urgency -- which is why a quick trigger on Frank was best for everyone, including him, with the decision already made -- the chance to coach a team built around a potential powerhouse interior should prove enticing.

A young roster led by Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe, substantial cap space to dot veterans around them, a lottery pick and three total draft picks this year, and a chance to help pull a franchise out of lethargy should have some appeal.

President of basketball operations Joe Dumars already was the one facing the real offseason pressure, even before Frank was fired, because of the mandate that he use his carefully crafted cap space wisely.

Now, Dumars also has to hire a coach, preferably well before free agency begins July 1, and probably will seek one whom he believes will use his roster more liberally.

What Frank would consider coaching resolve, others interpreted as intransigence when he benched players for weeks on end, sometimes months on end.

As Frank himself would note, almost every NBA player got to the league as a scorer. To stick, many have to find other ways to contribute.

It's also up to the coach to mix those contributions for maximum effect. To pinpoint the biggest reason Frank wasn't retained, it probably is rooted in dissatisfaction with how he managed that single element, and the chasms it created in some player relationships.

NBA players with one or two definable skills usually have more consistent careers than all-purpose players, except for that handful of extraordinary talents known only by first names, like Kobe or LeBron or Michael. Unless you have one of those, you usually have to go 10 deep, and not always the same 10.

Whether Frank's method was the right one or not, and there is ample argument both ways given the Pistons' talent level, if Frank deemed a player to be underperforming or undertalented, he wielded the hammer of playing time without reservation. Will Bynum, Austin Daye, Kim English, Jonas Jerebko, Slava Kravtsov, Vernon Macklin, Corey Maggette, Khris Middleton, Walker D. Russell Jr. and Villanueva all felt the force over the last two seasons, and it's a big reason Frank was fired.

Dumars already had a busy summer and a lot of decisions ahead, even before the dictates of finding a coach.

Meantime, Gores uttered the words, "Tell the world, we're ready to spend," last week, which wouldn't seem to require interpretation, except that it does.

How far does that willingness go beyond paying two head coaches next season? Is Gores willing to snub the cap a little? Snub it a lot? Is he willing to use buyout or amnesty clauses to pay players to go away?

The one luxury the Pistons have is seeing the results of the June 27 draft, and in some cases the all-important first few days of free agency, before some of their pricier decisions.

The Pistons owe center Slava Kravtsov $1.5 million next season but can buy him out for $500,000 by June 29. They owe Stuckey $8.5 million but can buy him out for $4 million by June 30, though he probably has too much trade value to give him away with that kind of penalty. Plus, those buyout amounts would count against the cap.

Kim English has a non-guaranteed contract for $788,000 and the Pistons have until July 12 -- well after the draft and early free agency -- to decide whether to retain him.

Most important, Villanueva has said he will exercise his player option for almost $8.6 million next season, but also is one of two amnesty-eligible Pistons -- Monroe is the other, but obviously not an amnesty candidate -- so the Pistons could pay off his contract in full but release him, with none of that amount applied against the salary cap, a one-time cap-clearing opportunity afforded to teams under certain conditions in the collective-bargaining agreement. If another team picked up Villanueva, Gores' financial responsibility to him would be reduced by the amount of his new contract.

The Pistons already expect to have about $25 million in cap space. They could create more. They could ignore the cap and all limits of fiscal restraint, for that matter. But when telling the world the Pistons are ready to spend, it's doubtful he meant torching money on an expensive hobby.

The two things we know, after a fourth consecutive year outside the playoffs and fifth with a sub-.500 record, is the Pistons will look much different next year and top management made Frank their first overhaul target.

Whether management can come up with answers, rather than just identify questions, will be determined in the summer of promise to come.